Mounting device for vacuum tube circuit elements



Jan. 6, 1953 A. F. HUGHES MOUNTING DEVICE FOR VACUUM TUBE CIRCUIT ELEMENTS Filed Dec. 3, 1947 M SUL AT/O/V IN VEN TOR.

' NSULAT/NG ALBERT F HUGHES I 5 5040770 mes/r5: w

ATTOEN E YS Patented Jan. 6, 1953 MOUNTING DEVICE FOR VACUUM TUBE CIRCUIT ELEMENTS Albert F. Hughes, Des Moines, WaslL, assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Ray R. Scoville, Glendale, Calif.

Application December 3, 1947, Serial No. 789,507

9 Claims.

This invention comprises a mounting device for electronic circuit apparatus, which combines into a single convenient unit a vacuum tube socket and means for supporting the circuit elements, such as resistors and condensers, which are to be in close physical association with the vacuum tube elements, and electrically connected immediately to them through the socket connections. The invention is herein illustratively described by reference to its application to the mounting of standard circuit elements and standard vacuum tubes of the octal base type. the vacuum tube socket portion of the present mounting device resembling a standard form of octal base socket. But it is to be understood that the invention viewed broadly applies to the mounting of vacuum tubes of different or non-standard design, or it may even apply in mountings for devices other than vacuum tubes, such as for mounting any multiple-prong electric circuit component of the plug-in type, to the prongs of which various circuit elements, such as resistors or condensers, are to be connected directly and in close physical association therewith, for whatever purpose.

The standard type vacuum tube socket which is designed to be mounted in the wall of an electronic device chassis has recesses on one side which receive the prongs of a vacuum tube or similar device, and on the other side incorporates soldering or terminal lugs to which the various circuit elements and connections are secured. Frequently, particularly in inexpensive radios, or the like, the various circuit resistors, condensers, or inductances are soldered to the socket terminal lugs and allowed to extend therefrom supported only flimsily by the strength of their soldered connecting leads. When more than two or three resistors or condensers are so connected to a tube socket, each extending toward its own succeeding connecting point in the circuit device, and generally in diverse directions, the result is a maze of crossed wires and elements, which is neither convenient to assemble nor well adapted for access to any of the elements to make replacements or to conduct circuit tests.

In addition, the elements being supported only at their'lead ends which are connected to the tube socket soldering lugs, the connections are tenuous and uncertain and often become broken through shock or vibration, or during the replacement or repair of other elements when the various wires must be'bent aside this way and that to insert a soldering iron to melt a connection, for example, or to reach the point of difficulty with a test probe. Aside from the time consuming aspects and inconvenience of such arrangements, the requirements of aircraft and military installations, for example, are not met at all well unless all of the circuit elements are rigidly supported, readily accessible for rapid repair work, and adapted to the specialized electrical requirements of the circuits, which preclude such haphazard arrangements.

For many purposes, the use of so-called terminal strips is satisfactory as a means of providing rigid mechanical support for resistors, condensers, or other circuit elements, while affording convenient soldering connections for such elements. Such terminal strips usually are mounted closely to a row of associated vacuum tubes, and comprise insulating cards which have rows of soldering lugs at the opposite edges of the cards and between which rows the elements are connected in generally parallel relation. From these soldering lugs supporting the circuit elements, connections are extended to the appropriate points in the apparatus, such as the vacuum tubes. This means, however, that the circuit elements are not always in the desired locations of physical proximity to the soldering lugs of the corresponding vacuum tube sockets, and in such applications as video amplifier circuits for television, or in specialized radar applications, this is frequently objectionable, because of the resulting stray capacity incurred by the excessively long connecting leads. Moreover, such arrangements frequently do not avoid numerous crossed and interfering connections of the wires at each vacuum tube socket. In addition, such terminal strips must be mounted separately, and consume a certain amount of space in the chassis which might otherwise be employed gainfully.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved mounting device for circuit elements accessory to vacuum tubes which will save space and facilitate assembly of such elements. Specifically, the various circuit elements associated immediately with a mounted vacuum tube are supported in physical proximity to the tube base by soldered connections of both element leads, one to a tube socket lug and the other to a specially provided lug spaced from the socket at a desired location, generally axially of the socket.

A further object of the invention is to provide improvements, in devices of the class described,

which facilitate making circuit connections to external circuits.

Further purposes are to eliminate the necessity for separately mounted terminal strips, as to the circuit elements which are connected immediately to the vacuum tubes, and to enable such elements ,to be installed with minimum chancewo'ferror occurring in making the necessary connections to them, thus facilitating assembly, as Well as testing and replacement of parts. The combined mounting means employed reduces the cost of initial manufacture of electronic devices by permittingsub-assemblies of circuit sections to be made which can be inserted very simply in a device at an appropriate later time,- either in manufacture or in the military field where there is frequently no time...totest a;circuit to determine a source of trouble, but only to replace circuit sections bodily. Such sub-assem= bly units com-prise a mounting device or the fore- ):going: type i. andrthevaricus: selectedcircuit; ele- -ments which, togetherwith the mounted vacuum .rtube,-.w'ill form. an. integral section of the electronicrcircuit. Sucha unit may be inserted bod- :ily in'cthe final assembly with no more inconven- -ience ;or;difficulty than is-encountered in mount- ."ing an'ordinary vacuum tube in the socket itself.

gThesegand other objects-and the various features of theyinvention Will'become further apparent from thefollowing description which is based --upon: the: accompanying drawings.

iiIn-Figure 1; one form of my novel'mountingclevice appea-rsin side elevation.

.:.Figure 2 is a sectional viewof- Figure 1, taken along'line 2-.-2.

Figure 3 isatop-perspective view of a typical .circuit,subeassemblyizincludin such a mounting idevice.

,:*Figure .4; is a, fragmentary perspective view of aamodified formiofzthe invention.

;-Figure.511s;atop-perspective view of a multiple typeymounting device having facilities for two yacuum tubes and including two terminalposts. :fienerally lmy;deviceincludes a vacuum-tube socket-portion wrhaving terminal lugs :8 ar- :ranged ina selectedor-common manner, project- :ing from :oneside thereof, and a terminal post 12,:preferablyof tubular insulated construction, iprojectinggenerally axially from such side of the socket. Near the ends of theterminal post the appropriate-number of terminal soldering lugs socket lugs,-between .which and the socket lugs ,the ,gcircuit elements may be solder-connected.

?,'Iihe;,.:l1articulare-forinoi 'the terminal post, the number and form of the terminalpost connecting 'lu an d various other details of construction .of theydevice inay'vary somewhat within thescope ,of the invention, as will be evident. However, an important characteristic or attribute of the device resides in'the arrangement of thegroups of sol- .deringlugs, onthe socket and terminal post, by whichthe mounted circuit elements connected therebetween aredisposed near the vacuum tube base and in orderly positions where they may be easily reached; the soldering lugs or terminals 20 including projections oreyelets 29 extending beyond'the end of the post for facilitating the making of connections toexternal circuits.

The vacuum tube socketportion 50 and ter- -minal' post l2:may beformed integrally in ;a singlemoldingoperati-orniormayv be molded or'otherwise formed separately and later connected to- :gether, loy :threads, rivets, or otherwise. The .bqdlhportion i4 of'the-socket is preferably formed they correspond.

wholly of insulating material and preferably the body portion E6 of the terminal post is also formed wholly of insulating material, although it may be metal if the terminal or soldering lugs mounted on the terminal post are appropriately insulated from each other by other means. "The, socket maybe of the usual form in which the prongs of avacuumtube 22 (shown in dotted lines) are inserted in one side for electrical connection to the embedded ends of the circularly larrangedsolderi lugs l8 projecting from the :opposite side of the socket.

The socket it may incorporate an encircling mounting-:jring 2 received in a peripheral groove .inzthe'socliet'having apertured ears for securement by rivetsorscrews 26 to the chassis wall 28 of, an electronic device. The particular manner in which the body of the socket is attached to the wall oiithe electronic device constitutes no essential part or the present invention, since the particular form of the tube socket itself is more or lessoptional, as will appear. But it is desirable to" employ a socket with solderinglugs distributed around itsportionicovered by the end of terminal post 12.

Usually-the base of the vacuum tube 22 has a -short axially extending post 353 and the socket has acorresponding bore for receiving the tubes .post. This not only. serves as a. convenient protective casing for the sealing tip of the vacuum tube: envelope,- after evacuation, -butit-lends additional support to the tubeiacilitates placing it in .thersocket and carries a longitudinally extending 'key which is received'in-a corresponding keyway in the wall of the socket it toinsure that the-vacuum tube prongs arereceived in the appropriately-numbered socket holes, for purposes of-identification. --If-a terminal post of tubular formjis employed in connection with my :improved mounting ,device,-,.the inner" wall of the tube it :may, ,for convenience in z molding, coextend with the bore in the socket. This is not essentiakhoweven-since the inner diameter of the tube may be of-any size; orasolid post may be used instead.

The number of terminal lugs 29 mounted on theterminal post l2 remote from the socket may vary to meet 'difierent requirements. There may, for instancebeanumber equal to the number-of solderin lugs on the socket, as appears in Figure 3, or there may be a lesser number, such asni,-withan octal base tube, as appears in Fig- ,ure 1. Again, locations of these lugs and the length or the terminal post may vary with particular requirements. .--Preferab1y, and for standard .circuitcomponents, the arrangement-of the terminal lugs Bllabout postl2 should correspond to that of thesoldering lugs. l8 .aboutthe socket, and the separation of the two sets: of lugs axially of: the post will be in the order of 2 inchesjthe lugs 26 being preferably mounted near the outer end of the post. Also the lugs 20 preferably are aligned respectively in the same diametral planes with the soldering lugs iii of the socket towhich If desiredthe post could extend well beyond themounting locations of the lugs 29, and carry a group of similar lugsata-location still more remote from the tube socket lugs.

In Figure -3 .a typical sub-assemblyunit is 0 shown, comprisingithe mounting device of? the type shown in Figure 1, on which are mounted appropriate circuit elements, such as the resistors 32, condenser Mend inductance element 36. This may, torexample; represent the sub-assembly circuitsection ofa video amplifier or similancircuit.

As in the typical circuit case, several of the socket soldering lugs may be connected directly together, as by the short wires 38. Such a sub-assembly unit as this is easily fabricated, its connections may be made with little chance of error and their accuracy may be checked readily.

Figure 4 illustrates a modified form of the invention which is identical in all respects with the device shown in Figures 1 to 3 except as will now be described in detail. Instead of a post l2 of insulating material as shown in Figure l, the post 16 of Figure 4 is metallic. The terminals 20 (which carry eyelets or projections 2!) are attached to the metallic post l6 by means of rivets 23; the terminals and rivets being insulated from the post by means of insulating washers W and insulating grommets G.

In Figures 1 to 4, the lugs or terminals 20 have a pair of eyelet ears 2!, extending vertically on each side of the web secured by pin 23 to the tube wall I6. The circuit elements connected to the socket soldering lugs may be connected to the ears of the post lugs projecting toward the socket lugs, while the longer, external circuit leads may then be connected to the ears of the lugs projecting away from the socket lugs, thus separating the soldered connections. In both forms of the invention the connection lugs are readily mounted on the terminal post by rivets or eyelets 23, because of the tubular form of the post. From a manufacturing standpoint, with a solid terminal post it might still be desirable to recess its outer end, making it tubular, to permit this simple riveted attachment of the lugs to be used, although other forms of mountings for the lugs are available.

In Figure 5 appears a modified form of the mounting device which includes two socket portions formed in a solid plate of insulating material, each having terminal posts associated with it, enabling the sub-assembly of larger circuit sections to mount more than one tube, where that is desired. The mounting and arrangement of the lugs on each of the terminal posts 42 and on the socket plate 44 may be made as previously described in connection with the single post and socket form.

Such a mounting device may be very cheaply manufactured, and aside from its virtue in respect to the convenience with which the circuit elements may be soldered in position or readily replaced or tested, the entire unit may be installed by the same simple steps which usually attend the installation of an ordinary vacuum tube in the socket. Moreover, the amount of space saved in the chassis of an electronic device is substantial, especially if it includes a large number of tubes and associated accessories, while the use of such a mounting device will enable substantial savings in manufacturing electronic apparatus, by sub-assembling parts and reducing the time and efiort in making and checkin connections. Replacement of elements in the field, when circuit elements burn out or become detective, is also facilitated.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mounting means for circuit components associated with elements of an electronic tube having a plurality of parallel prongs, said mounting means including an electronic tube holder comprising an insulating block, a plurality of metallic socket elements mounted within said block for receiving said prongs and for mounting said tube on one side of said block, said elements having a corresponding plurality of terminals carried by the insulating block and constituting a first set of terminals, a second set of terminals located beyond said other side, and a rigid structure coupled to said block for maintaining the first and second sets of terminals in predetermined fixed relationship to each other, said structure includin insulating means for insulating the terminals of the first set from those of the second set and those of the second set from each other, a plurality of said terminals of the second set each including a portion extending beyond the end of said structure in a direction away from the electronic tube holder, the terminals of the first and second sets being accessible to permit the soldering of leads of circuit components between terminals of the two sets While the terminals are being held in said predetermined fixed relationship by said rigid structure.

2. A mounting means for circuit components associated with elements of an electronic tube having a plurality of parallel prongs, said mounting means including an electronic tube holder comprising an insulating block, a plurality of metallic socket elements mounted within said block for receiving said prongs and for mounting said tube on one side of said block, said elements having a corresponding plurality of terminals projectin beyond the socket elements and beyond the other side of said block and constituting a first set of terminals, a second set of terminals located beyond said other side, a rigid structure coupled to said block for maintaining the first and second sets of terminals in predetermined fixed relationship to each other, said structure including insulating means for insulating the terminals of the first set from those of the second set and those of the second set from each other, and means for connecting the terminals of the second set to an external circuit comprising metallic portions extending beyond the end of said structure, the terminals of the first and second sets being accessible to permit the soldering of leads of circuit components between terminals of the two sets while the terminals are being held in said predetermined fixed relationship by said rigid structure.

3. A mounting means as defined in claim 2 in which the first set of terminals are positioned on a circle and in which said structure includes a single post attached to the tube holder within said circle and extending away therefrom along the axis of said circle.

4. A mounting means as defined in claim 3 in which said post consists of insulatin material.

5. In a mounting means for circuit components associated with the elements of an electronic tube having a plurality of prongs, the combination of: a tube holder comprising an insulating block with at least a corresponding plurality of socket elements seated within said block to receive said prongs, said socket elements continuing and projecting away from the seats for said socket elements in said block to form a set of socket terminals, a metallic post, one end of said post being centrally secured to said block, the outer periphery of said post being sufiiciently small to leave an insulating gap between said socket terminals and said post, and a plurality of metallic terminals insulated from each other and mounted on said post, said socket terminals and said metallic terminals furnishing means for mounting said circuit components between said terminals.

6. A mounting means for circuit components associated with electronic tubes; said mounting means including a plurality of tube sockets havin :a' plurality of socket elements; .said'tubesbein mounted on the outer sides of said sockets; a post for each socket; said post being in fixedrelationship with respect to each socket and extending away from the inner side of said sockets; an insulating member for connecting the sockets to form a unitary structure including said sockets, said posts and said insulating member; and a pluralityof metallic terminals connected to and supported by each of saidposts for mounting at least some of said circuit components between said terminals and said socket elements,

7. A mounting means as defined in claim 2 in which said metallic portions comprise eyelets.

8. A device as defined in claim 5 in which said mounting post is a metallic tube, each of said metallic terminals having means cooperating therewith which extends through the Wall-of said tube to secure the terminal to the tube, and insulating means for each terminal to insulate it from the tube.

9. A mounting means as defined in claim 5 in which said metallic terminals are mounted adjacent that end of the "post which is remote from the tube holder and comprise soldering lugs located beyond said end of the post and projectin in a direction away from the tube holder.

ALBERT F. HUGHES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

